


say you'll remember me

by thorduna



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Falling In Love, Growing Up, M/M, Pre-Canon, Promises, Sibling Incest, Symbolism, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-05-05 12:26:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5375153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thorduna/pseuds/thorduna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i> All he saw was the length of the rainbow bridge and, at its end, a reunion with his brother. </i>
</p><p> </p><p>Loki has been gone for a while. Thor can't wait to see him again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	say you'll remember me

**Author's Note:**

> Vaguely inspired by [this](http://radiatorfromspace.tumblr.com/post/129152370876/i-imagine-interactions-between-the-odinson-bros) and, yet again, by the new deleted scene, but this time I focused on Loki wearing red.

Thor did not even attempt to conceal his eagerness as he walked alongside his parents to the Bifrost observatory. If he had taken enough interest to look, he would see his mother smiling, a gentle look in her eyes, while his father's brows drew together in a sign of apprehension that nobody, except perhaps for his wife and the all-seeing gatekeeper, could understand.

 

But Thor didn't look and all he saw was the length of the rainbow bridge and, at its end, a reunion with his brother.

 

Thor had raged when it was announced, over two years ago, that Loki was to go to Alfheim, alone, and spend a whole year there at the elven court. His parents had attempted to placate him by telling him that there would be no shortage of journeys for him to partake in, they would simply be different to Loki's and he had stopped on the spot, gaping at them. He hadn't had the words then, in his youthful anger, to explain that it was a hollow ache filling his chest at the thought of not seeing his brother for a whole _year_ that made him shout and made the corners of his eyes prickle with moisture.

 

But Loki was back now. True to his parents' word, Thor too had travelled, shorter journeys along Asgard's borders, learning about their defences. Most days, he had been so tired he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the ground, but he still dreamt – and more often than not he dreamt about dark haired boy with smiling eyes.

 

They arrived at the observatory, many members of court trailing behind to welcome the second prince home.

 

Heimdall nodded his welcome to the royal family, eyes still turned away, presumably watching Loki. A sudden thrill ran through Thor – finally he would be reunited with his little brother. He couldn't wait to share all that he had seen and to learn in return what Loki thought of the elves and-

 

The Bifrost roared to life at the turn of the gatekeeper's sword and Thor held his breath.

 

His first thought when Loki landed, calm and unruffled by the journey, was that he was  _tall._ Thor had grown himself and put on muscle, an inevitable result of the hard work done at the borders and he's had time to get used to his new size, but Loki... Loki remained in his memories as a small boy, almost half a head shorter than his older brother. Now Loki was just as tall as Thor, even with his new growth and Thor stared, stunned. He could hardly recognize him. He was clad in all black, the tight fitting leggings and tunic obviously made according to the elven fashion. On top of his shoulder sat a short, summer cloak, coming only to his calves and – absurdly – it was crimson red. 

 

Thor had to pause in his perusal of this new, surprising person who wore his little brother's face as Loki stepped to them and hugged their mother, before greeting their father with a bit more control. Then he turned to Thor and Thor froze just for a second, stunned. They look at each other, equal in height, taking in little details. Thor's own hair went all the way down to his shoulders and was braided in the way that warriors often do, while Loki's was cut short, curling just beneath his ears and slicked back.

 

Then Loki's mouth quirked up in a smile and Thor forgot everything, stepping forward to snatch Loki in a tight hug.

 

Thor wrinkled his nose as it brushed Loki's shoulder. Was that perfume? Just what had the elves been teaching Loki?

 

“By Norns, you have become such a beast, brother,” Loki laughed into his ear before pulling away. There was a sparkle in his eyes – something that remained perfectly unchanged, along with their bright green colour – and Thor felt that perhaps things would still be as they were before.

 

-

 

It turned out, nothing was as it had been. Thor thought Loki would once again be at his side as Thor went through his days – training in combat, attending lessons, spending his time with his friends... in reality, Loki only came to the training ground two times a week and even then he spent those at the archery range, polishing the skills with a bow and arrow that the elves have taught him, along with a technique of his own, using small daggers and throwing them, with frightening speed and accuracy. Their shared lessons, too, were few. They attended histories and star charting together, and that was it.

 

And as for Thor's time spent with his friends... he couldn't get the look that Loki had given him when he asked him to join them out of his head. It was... pity, almost. Loki had declined in a gentle tone of voice and turned on his heel, walking away.

 

Thor watched him go, an odd feeling in his stomach. He had been right to despise the idea of Loki leaving for so long.

 

Somebody else came back.

 

-

 

A knock on his door roused Thor from slumber. He'd eaten with the Einherjar after his training, feeling proud to be invited to the company of such experienced, battle seasoned men, and he drank quite a bit more mead with his meal than he usually would, which left him sleepy and sluggish. And so he blinked himself awake, quite confused. It was dark out, but he didn't know the time.

 

“Yes?”

 

The door opened a fraction and somebody slipped in. Thor's pulse jumped a little, rousing him from sleepiness, but as the figure took another step, Thor saw that it was Loki. He relaxed back into the pillows and smiled.

 

“Brother... come in.”

 

Loki said nothing until he got all the way to Thor's bed and crawled on top of the covers, stretching out beside Thor. Thor just let out an amused chuckle, watching Loki make himself comfortable.

 

“So,” Loki began, looking up at the ceiling. “A year has passed. I find my brother taller than ever and twice the size in muscle. What have you been doing?”

 

Thor laughed, turning to his side and propping his head up on an arm, watching the sharp slope of Loki's cheekbone, devoid of the roundness that he remembered.

 

“What have _I_ been doing? Look at you. You're as tall as me, dressed in colours you never used to wear, mastering new skills...”

 

Loki waved his hand in lazy dismissal. “Have no fear, red is still your colour. It's simply that the elves consider it polite to wear one's house colour on important occasions.”

 

“I thought it suited you,” Thor blurted out and Loki glanced at him, something guarded in his eyes. “I mean it.”

 

Loki slipped out of the bed as easily as he had slid in and crossed the length of the room silently, throwing a quick smirk at Thor over his shoulder, approaching Thor's closet. Thor realized at once what Loki meant to do and he could feel the blood in his veins heating up.

 

Just as Thor expected, Loki opened the closet and pulled out Thor's cape. Thor watched, fascinated, as Loki ran long, pale fingers over the heavy, deep red fabric before throwing it over his shoulders with ease.

 

“Like this?” Loki asked, voice so low that Thor couldn't not read the feeling behind it. Slowly, he sat up on the bed. Underneath the cape Loki was dressed simply, as one might on a free evening, visiting his brother only a room away, but he still made for a shocking figure in the dimness of the room as the cape enveloped him and pooled around his feet.

 

“Yes,” Thor said, gulping. “Just like that.”

 

As Loki took a step forward, he looked like a stranger to Thor once again.

 

He knelt on the bed and Thor simply watched mutely as he pulled the cape with him. They stared at each other and Thor wished for more light – he wanted to see what was in Loki's eyes, to find if it was just him whose heart was beating fast for reasons he didn't understand, or if Loki truly wore the expression of a hunter approaching his prey.

 

In the end, Loki simply threw one corner of the cape over Thor and pulled them both down to sleep.

 

“We can share,” he said.

 

-

 

Loki couldn't help a gasp of surprise as Thor grabbed his arm roughly and yanked him closer.

 

The heat was tiring them both out. Thor couldn't concentrate during their lessons, the unmoving air of the room slowing his thinking, and Loki found any sort of physical exertion on the training grounds even more distasteful than usual. So it came as a great relief to them both when their duties were done and they rode to a lake at the edge of Asgard, enjoying the coolness of the water and the privacy of the spot.

 

Loki had been so focused on keeping himself in check in the face of Thor's imminent nudity that he quite forgot about his own – and about the small mark that his family probably shouldn't be seeing.

 

“What's that?” Thor growled at him as they stood knee deep in the lake, bare underneath the glaring sun.

 

“It's a rune, Thor, I should hope you know-” Loki tried, but was interrupted by Thor pulling at his arm again and squatting down to look closely at the black rune etched at Loki's hip.

 

“I know it's a rune, brother. Why is it burned into your skin?”

 

_Burned, tattooed and cut, actually_ , Loki corrected in his mind, though he had no desire to say it out loud. Godflesh was not easy to mark.

 

“It's for my seidr,” Loki rolled his eyes, trying to pull himself out of Thor's grasp. Not only did he not succeed, but Thor also reached out and ran his fingers over the mark, silent. Loki shivered. “Stop it.”

 

Thor did let him go then, and stood up, leaning close. Loki met his gaze, setting his teeth stubbornly even though he was unsettled by the close scrutiny. The sunlight, reflected on the water's surface was dancing in Thor's eyes, their blue so starkly contrasting with the tan of his face.

 

“What else, Loki?” Thor asked him quietly. “What else did my brother lose and gain?”

 

Loki slapped him for it.

 

-

 

Thor ended up apologizing, despite being the one who walked around with a bruise underneath his eye for two days. He thought it was worth it though, because Loki echoed the apology in a rush of breath and hugged him, long and hard.

 

“I swear to you, brother, the most important things are the same,” he said.

 

-

 

It was a lie.

 

Or maybe it wasn't.

 

Thor slowly opened his eyes, lungs burning from lack of air. He pulled back just the tiniest bit. First thing that came to focus were Loki's dark eyelashes, then the green of his eyes. Thor raised his hand and ran the tips of his fingers over his brother's lips first, then his own, trying to reconcile with the idea that they had been pressed together mere seconds ago.

 

-

 

Loki took them back to the lake even though the leaves were turning from yellow to red and brown and there was a biting chill in the air. Thor had a solution for that though and, before he pressed Loki to a tree, intending to lose himself in the taste of his brother's kisses, he wrapped them both warmly in his cape, forever fond of the way the red of it surrounded Loki.

 

“I didn't learn this on Alfheim,” Loki said as he tugged Thor's trousers open and slipped a cool hand inside. Thor let out a hiss that turned into a moan as Loki began to stroke him _just right_.

 

“Liar.”

 

-

 

The night before Loki left for Vanaheim – two years he was to spend there, with the promise that his mother and brother would visit once – Thor showed him how  _he_ had changed, unleashing the power of his thrusts along with the power he drew from the sky. It rained and stormed across all of Asgard and behind the secured doors, Thor held Loki's wrists above his hand, his younger brother no match for the new strength of his arms, and Loki moaned out his approval as Thor rammed into him, his grunts matching the thunder ringing outside.

 

“Promise you will come back the same,” Thor ordered, holding Loki's pleasure in his hands as hostage. “Promise.”

 

“I cannot,” Loki whispered, bucking upwards. “I cannot.”

 

“You must,” Thor insisted, the gentle nuzzle he gave to Loki's neck at odds with the force of his hips.

 

Then, finally, just before dawn: “I promise.”

 

-

 

When Thor landed on the mossy, soft ground on Vanaheim, his mother's arm hooked to his own, he overlooked Loki at first, impossible as that seemed to him. But when his eyes adjusted, he saw why.

 

Instead of the crimson that filled Thor's hopes and dreams, Loki's cape was green.

 

 


End file.
